DENVER — Before Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander closed out a Game 4 victory against the Denver Nuggets, starting forward Chet Holmgren was on the ground holding his head in pain. He’d taken an elbow to the face from Nuggets’ sixth man, and former Thunder All-Star, Russell Westbrook. It’s been a physical series for Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, two bigs with the daunting assignment of defending MVP center Nikola Jokic.

Fortunately, Holmgren told reporters he was doing better and spoke about the significance of tying the series 2-2 and heading back to the Paycom Center for Game 5.

“I’m good. I caught one, and it stung pretty bad, but it didn’t rattle my head too much. So, I’m good,” Holmgren said. “And it’s big. That’s a must-win game right there. It wasn’t pretty on either side. But, at the end of the day, you got to figure out how to come away with a win. We didn’t do that two times already in this series. So, it’s good to be able to do that tonight. Now, our focus has moved on to the next game. We’ve got to continue to be better throughout the series. Put ourselves in a better spot to win each of these games.”

Thunder's Chet Holmgren had eight points and 13 rebounds. He helped limit Jokic to a poor shooting performance, scoring 27 points on 7-of-22 attempts, including 2-of-8 from deep. Jokic also finished with 13 rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on closing out a Thunder win

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) dive for a loose ball in the fourth quarter during game four of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena
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After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault shouted out key role players who helped his team secure Game 4 against the Nuggets, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed the pressure he puts on himself to lead his team to win.

“My mentality was to do whatever it takes to win, and I do put a lot of pressure on myself,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I have very high expectations for myself — I’ve always have. I always dream big and reach for the stars, and try to accomplish my goals.”

For Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s the expectation he always puts on himself as one of the league’s MVP candidates.

“I always feel like I have to. Those are the moments where “the guy” on the team earns his buck. You earn your money,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You close games. You win games, and that’s what everything’s about — winning games. And the later you go in the season, the better the teams, the closer the games, and you get to rise to the occasion.”

The Thunder face the Nuggets in Game 4 on Tuesday.